There’s a good chance that you are already thinking about Thanksgiving. Whether you’ll be celebrating with family, friends, or by yourself, you’ve probably been doing some planning for Thursday or whichever day your feast of gratitude will happen. 

Will it be a formal meal, casual gathering, or something in between? What will be the main course, the side dishes, and the desserts? Who is in charge of what and what will you wear? (Stretchy pants are always a good option for Thanksgiving Day dinner attire.) 

If you are hosting, you may have a growing “to do” list of what needs to happen before everyone shows up at your place. The foods you’ll prepare or purchase, the chores that need to be done, and what things need to be tucked away into the basement or closet.

As we prepare to welcome guests, we vacuum, sweep, dust, and spruce up the place. We may get out some good dishes, grab the cloth napkins, and do other things that are beyond the everyday meal preparation and dining experience. Thanksgiving is a special day, so we want to put out our best to celebrate and impress.

If we visit with others over food or drink this weekend, we’ll probably keep rolling out the best stuff, only sharing the successes and good news. When someone asks about work, health, and relationships, we’ll only reveal the positive, saying “It’s going well. Things are good.”, whether that is true or not. Some of us will resort to outright lies to hide the difficult truths and the pain of our lives. 

All too often, we fall into the same pattern as a community of Christian faith. We think that we need to put on our best face when we show up to worship, Bible studies, or other moments together, pretending like everything is okay and we’re holding it together. We roll out a false narrative, rather than speaking the truth about the brokenness in our lives.

Makoto Fujimura in his book Art + Faith: A Theology of Making contends that there is much for us to learn as followers of Jesus from the practice of Kintsugi. “Kintsugi, the ancient Japanese art form of repairing broken tea ware by reassembling ceramic pieces, creates anew the valuable pottery, which now becomes more beautiful and more valuable than the original, unbroken vessel… A Kintsugi master mends the broken tea ware with Japanese lacquer and then covers that with gold, [making] the broken pottery even more beautiful than the original.” The process isn’t only about repairing what was broken, but about reassembling the vessel into a new creation.

This is the work of God. The Holy One gathers our shattered shards and creates something new and beautiful out of that which has been destroyed.

Fujimura continues, “What kind of a church would we become if we simply allowed broken people to gather, and did not try to ‘fix’ them but simply to love and behold them?” This is God’s work among us. Let us hold one another tenderly, trusting that God will continue to do the work of resurrection.

As you speak words of gratitude and give thanks this week, you can do so knowing that God welcomes you and loves you whether your life is pulled together and clipping along with great success or you are stumbling and crumbling at every turn. Jesus doesn’t wait for us to clean up our act and pull our lives together before loving us. Instead, Jesus gathers the chipped and broken pieces of our lives and holds us in love.

As I gather in gratitude this week, I will give thanks for Lord of Life and our mission to love people well. We strive to welcome and care for all people, no matter where they are in their journey, and let Jesus go to work doing what God does best.

I thank God for you,

Pastor Lowell

Interning as a hospital chaplain caused me to see grief unfold in a variety of ways. Sometimes, people’s facial expressions and tone of voice were lifeless as I tried to comfort what felt like a wall. Others refused to let themselves grieve as they used their faith as a reason to not emote. Some couldn't get past anger to let themselves cry. And some expressed their emotions so easily that pastoring them was as simple as giving them my ears and presence.

From individual experience and witnessing the experiences of others I have noticed that a common theme of grief and suffering is guilt. And in the worst-case scenario, guilt kept people from processing their suffering. Guilt because depression is debilitating and we can’t get out of bed when we should be productive. Guilt because we’ve been processing our grief for a while now and both internal and external voices are saying, “you just need to get over it.” Someone in our life has died and a recurring thought is “I should be happy that they’re in a better place,” as a means to discredit our own mourning. We, as human beings, find it difficult to affirm grief and suffering. Sadly, guilt is their companion. We expect ourselves to push through the obstacles of life, and oftentimes, we see stoicism as strength, and emotions as weak.  

But what if I said the Divine is grieving with us? Does that change our attitudes?

In the eighth chapter of Romans, Paul writes of living in a world in which creation is subjected to futility and human beings suffer. But Paul does not stop there. Rather, he answers where God is in our suffering, “and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies ... Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” (Romans 8:23, 26) With sighs too deep for words? The Holy Spirit is sighing with me when my grief is so strong that I do not have the words for prayer to express my inward groans? Paul says yes. 

Reading those words made me rethink the story of Lazarus. Usually, when we think of Jesus crying with Mary and Martha over the death of Lazarus, we explain Jesus’ emotions as Christ’s humanity. But from Paul’s words, we learn that Christ's grief is not simply the reality of taking on human flesh. Rather, Christ’s tears are a human expression of a divine reality. As the Holy Spirit joins in on our sighs, God is present in our grief as God grieves on behalf of ourselves and all of creation.

What does this mean? Even when we cry alone we are not alone. Mourning is holy and not worthy of shame or guilt. When we grieve for a broken reality God grieves with us. Sighs too deep for words are holy.

Imagine how we would look upon each other in the darkest times if we recognized sadness as a divine expression. “You need to get over it,” “pull yourself together,” “it’s selfless to grieve for x person’s passing” would be replaced with our ability to love each other more deeply, and love ourselves more fully in our own suffering. We’d look upon ourselves and each other with much kinder eyes and see God.

Blessed are those who mourn (Matthew 5:4),

Pastor Alec Brock (he/him)

Seminary Intern

I had the opportunity to attend a Youth Ministries Retreat at the end of October. It was inspiring and full of all kinds of good stuff. It will take time to wade through all the information, however, I did quickly order a book called “Every Moment Holy” Volume 1. Laughing and sighing as we read the titles of the prayers and liturgies, this book would come in handy. The holy moments range from the Changing of Diapers to the Enjoyment of Bonfires, Waiting in Line, and the Anniversary of a Loss. 

As I read the book, the liturgy on Giving leaped out at me. It happened to coincide with a recent trip to the shoe store. What did I really need? What did I have at home in my closet already? I had the money but was this the priority? But they were cute. I needed one pair but wanted three. I left feeling sad. I know, sad over shoes! Please know that I am not judging you for your shoe buying habits or purchasing decisions, this is my own struggle with worldly possessions. Today, it was shoes. Tomorrow, it might be new pillows for the couch.  

I try to live my life generously. I know first-hand the freedom and peace that it can bring. So, why do I struggle in these moments? 

My prayer is that the following words will live in my heart as a reminder that my treasures and hopes are in Jesus alone.  

“Every Moment Holy” A Liturgy for Giving: 

In truth, I have nothing but you, O Christ, nothing that I might call my own.  

So let that good confession now compel a better stewardship.                                  

First teach me to treasure you, Jesus, above all things. Then let that increasing devotion be increasingly demonstrated in a joyful generosity for to give is to live out the declaration that you alone supply. I need not fear what comes tomorrow. 

When I give to meet the need of others, when I give to the work of those who serve the poor, the sick, the oppressed, when I give to the service of your Body and your Kingdom, I give not what is mine but only what is already yours. With every charitable act, I am simply practicing the fact that nothing which passes through my hands has ever belonged to me. 

You are my generous master. Make me your faithful trustee, teaching me to live as a wiser conduit of this liberal grace, learning to hold loosely the things of this world, never hoarding that which is yours, never seeking the mean preservation of my own comforts. Rather let me love well in my giving, even as you, O Father, have loved me so well by giving me all things in Christ. 

Let me make each offering without thought of temporal gain. Let me give precisely because I have believed your promises are true- and let my giving be the proof. If you are my shepherd, then I am freed to live generously, knowing that any seeming deprivation is but the work of your Spirit weaning me from a world of things and winning me to greater dependence on Christ the King. 

So why would I grasp at that which I cannot keep? This body will sleep in death and what I now hold so briefly will pass into the keeping of another. I own nothing here. I have no claim. Dispel the myth of my possessions, lest they taint that better hope of Heaven. 

Rather let me learn, while I draw breath, to live with open hands and a joy-filled heart, investing in your resources in your good works. Let me plant these mortal seeds in expectation of immortal harvests… 

All that I have is yours, Lord Christ, All that I have is you. 

In Christ’s love, 

Angie Seiller, Director of Faith Formation 

I’ve been leading a study of Psalms and their translations into hymns for Women at the Well. Since the most recent session followed Reformation Sunday, we studied Psalm 46 and how it inspired and influenced Martin Luther to write the words for our Reformation hymn, A Mighty Fortress. 

I’ve been at Lord of Life for over seven years now, and I still struggle with the words in our hymnal because they are different from any other church I’ve served before:

A mighty fortress is our God, A sword and shield victorious.

Instead of:

A mighty fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing.

I love a little sleuthing about music history and I’ve had a great audience for our Bible study, so I decided to dig in to find some answers. This is totally academic geekery - it’s the kind of thing I get excited about.

I went through our previous four hymnals to get a feel for what we’ve done before and found that our current hymnal and the previous one (the 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship, or “the green hymnal”) use the same words. The red hymnal before that, published in 1958, used the “bulwarks” translation that I’m more familiar with.

When I opened the Common Service Book and Hymnal from 1918, I found that we were doing yet another translation back then:

A mighty fortress is our God, A trusty shield and weapon.

Huh … this sounds a lot more like our sword and shield victorious. It turns out this translation was the translation common to Lutheran churches starting in 1868, and is a very faithful translation of Luther’s original German.

The other translation - the one about the bulwark - was written at about the same time, but by Frederick Hedges, who was much more romantic and poetic. Instead of trying to translate it literally, he made a beautiful and clearly long-lasting hymn.

If you’re curious how Psalm 46 and any version of this text come together to remind us of the Reformation, I’ll leave you with this:
The 46^th Psalm was written in thanksgiving to God for the saving of Jerusalem from the warfare of opposing nations. We sing Mighty Fortress to praise God for staying with us as we reform God’s church and ourselves, and for preserving God’s Word against outside forces.

Reforming with you,

John Johns

There was a parade of superheroes, princesses, and even a bumblebee through our gathering space this week, as part of the Lord of Life Preschool Halloween procession. It was a delight to see all the little ones and teachers dressed up and prancing around in their alter egos begging for treats.

I liked dressing up and working the neighborhood when I was a kid, but there were a few houses we always avoided – the super scary homesteads where the dry ice billowed over the sidewalk and the strobe lights flashed in frantic and disorienting rhythm, while creepy noises blared from hidden speakers. Of course, there was always someone nestled in a dark location who would jump out when we were least expecting it. For me, it was less “Trick or Treat” and more fright and fear.

I haven’t been to a haunted house for years, because there is plenty of terror and fright in daily life. There’s no need for me to go searching for more. Violence and aggression are never far from us. Hatred and jealousy rip through families and communities. The crippling cancer diagnoses continue to roll in, wars between nations and friends continue to rage, and the battle against hunger and poverty appear to regularly stall.

We shouldn’t be surprised by all of this. Over and over throughout biblical accounts, we hear the matriarchs and patriarchs say that life will be hard and scary at times. Even Jesus said that we will have trouble. “I have told you [about turning your grief into joy], so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Oh yeah! This fills me with confident hope!

The apostle Paul also spoke clearly about the trouble and trauma constantly encircling us, but he wouldn’t let it dominate his thoughts or paralyze his life. He confidently declared, “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

Our Psalm for Reformation Sunday, Psalm 46, has delivered a hearty remedy to fearful and apprehensive people for thousands of years.

God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him.
We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom,

courageous in seastorm and earthquake,
Before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains.

Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
God-of-Angel-Armies protects us. (Psalm 46:1-3 - The Message)

No matter what happens to us or the troubles that come, God is with us and for us. Church leader and reformer Martin Luther found such assurance in Psalm 46 that it inspired him to pen the lyrics for “A Mighty Fortress.”

I don’t know what is scaring you these days or what anxiety you carry, but hear Jesus’ words for you, today:  “Do not fear. You are mine. I love you and will protect and encourage you. No matter what leaps out from the dark and shadowed places of your life, I am with you always.”

Be not afraid,

Pastor Lowell

GA, GA, BALL! It is the sound that echoed in my ears many times at the Jr. High Retreat at Camp Kern. Each game begins with this chant. I have known about Gaga for some time, but I have watched it from a distance. We did not have Gaga growing up, so I didn’t know the rules. What I discovered as I got closer to the Gaga Pit (wooden octagon structure), you WILL be invited to participate even if you do not look particularly athletic or young.

“It's super simple. Basically, we throw a bunch of players and a ball in a pit. Once the ball is in play, you can hit it with an open or closed hand. If the ball touches you below the knee, you are out. The last one in the pit wins. Then, everyone hops back in for the next round. Games last no more than five minutes. It's fast, it's fun and it's really addictive. As soon as you get out, you can't wait to hop back in.” www.gagacenter.com/nyc/about/what-is-gaga/

Honestly, the first time I was invited to play, I was a bit suspicious that they wanted an easy target. There were a few intimidating, Gaga-loving teens. However, as the day went on, I came to see that they genuinely wanted everyone to be included regardless of skill.

During this fall stewardship campaign, as we talk about Forward in Faith, Worship, and Outreach, Gaga parallels our community of faith and God’s welcoming love for all of us. The mission of the gospel is too big for individuals, we are called to be together. We each have different gifts, yet we are one in the body of Christ. In Gaga, each person adds to the game, it could be that you can laugh at yourself, you are strong mentally or physically, you are the encourager, or the teacher, or the thoughtful observer. We are all mixed in our uniqueness in the “pit.”

Still facing life with COVID, it is difficult to figure out how we move forward in our faith and as a community of believers. What is our part? When will we be ready to jump in? What can I do at my own comfort level? What are the rules? Can I stretch myself? There aren’t easy answers. That first time is hard, but it feels so good when you step in. As our life in Christ, the beauty of Gaga is that everyone is invited back into the fold time and time again. The winner gets very minor accolades before a new game begins. Can we play the game with a few? We can, but it is far more satisfying and life-affirming when everyone is included.

LOL is our Gaga pit. We can jump in, live as God sees us, stretch ourselves and be comfortably on the edge while always belonging to each other. Paul writes of our new life in Christ as one body with many parts:

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. - Romans 12:4-6a

Joining you in living, sharing, and celebrating with all people God’s love in Jesus Christ as we move forward in faith.

God’s peace always,

Angie Seiller, Director of Faith Formation

Other fun Gaga facts:

We have a Gaga pit at LOL. It needs a little TLC after COVID. Contact Angie if you are willing to help out (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Where did Gaga originate? Was it created by the Israeli Defense Force or by a frustrated camp counselor? To find out: www.blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2017/08/09/who-invented-ga-ga-ball-someone-might-have-solved-the-mystery-for-good/